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The blogger meetup in Las Vegas

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here was a point in my life when I would have said that my life was full, that I didn't need any more friends. That I was busy enough.

Funny how our crazy little life sometimes has other plans up it's sneaky sleeves, isn't it?

Enter these ladies, last weekend in Las Vegas and 9 other bloggers in our little blogging family who didn't make the trip. You can see the complete list of Blended Bloggers on the main page of our collective blog here. 2 years in the making and finally we had a chance to meet in real life. For Lana, Carrie and myself, this wasn't our first time meeting, but for the rest it was. I have lots to say about this weekend, but for today, I want to just focus on the meetup with my blogging friends. Tomorrow I will cover everything else Vegas and the BAM conference. And for the record, other TBBloggers not present at the meet-up, you were all thought of and talked about (in a good way) at some point during the weekend. You have such a huge place in my heart.

Thursday morning, Calgary airport. Enter Shaunacey and I getting an afternoon together before we flew to Las Vegas. I was so nervous to meet her, shaking almost. Yet the minute I saw her it was like I had known her my whole life. We chatted with ease and honestly, it felt like I was travelling with a friend from high school instead of it being a blindfriendshipdate. We had a 6 hour layer and amused ourselves by renting a car, driving to downtown Calgary to have lunch with other Blended Blogger, Christy, who just happens to be my TrueBlueBFF, who was also dying to meet Shaunacey. It was the most entertaining lunch I have had in ages and it felt very natural. I was sad to leave Christy in Calgary. Shaunacey and I headed back to the airport lounge to enjoy a couple drinks and the ball game before heading on our flight to meet the rest of the group.

When we arrived in Vegas, Lana, Carrie, Sarah and Sheila were waiting for us in the lobby of the Venetian. It was hugs and giggles the minute we saw them and it felt so good to have them in real time, right in front of me. I kept wanting to hug them and soak it all in. WAY better than Google hangouts.

Carrie (the Texan) and Lana (the Seattle-ite) I had met last year and they feel like sisters to me. Yes, they are more my mom and aunts' ages, but age has not been a barrier, as they are young in heart, mind and spirit. Also body. Holy shit, Carrie is ripped. Now, not saying that my mom and sisters are old, I'm just using that as a comparison so you can see the diversity in this gaggle of women we have formed. It is quite wonderful when you can connect with somebody who is out of your...er....demographics.

It was my first time meeting Sarah (the Californian) and Sheila (the Floridian). Both are sweet and tiny. Sarah is probably the most genuine and caring person I have met in a long time. She even went back to a restaurant to tell the host that we had found somewhere else to eat so they wouldn't waste time on us. She has such a positive outlook and is always smiling. Being around her was fun. She could cut loose and be a goof, pretending to be drunk in the middle of a mall and then she could be serious and sincere the next. Sheila has great stories and I really enjoy picking her brain on her worldview and experience homeschooling. Being educators, it's nice to see someone else's perspective. Sheila is kind and nurturing, the true mamma of the group, making sure we had our jackets and anything else necessary. Although the weather was hot for my Saskatchewan skin, it was chilly for her. Hence the jackets. I liked being around Sheila because I know she was always on it and thinking of what needed to be done. Finally after we had got cozy in our rooms, poured ourselves some wine, Alison arrived. We hustled down the many hallways, all Harry Potter-like to meet our last goose.

Now Alison (the Minnesotan) is one that I probably knew the least about and I was just starting to get her vibe through our group chats in Slack. She is a spitfire. Yet with mainly fashion posts on her blog, you don't know that about her. In fact, I had created a whole alter ego for her and a fake name and career for her hubby whilst imaging what she'd be like. For the record, her husband's name isn't Paul and he is not an architect. My bad. Getting to know Alison was one of the best surprises. She is creative and witty and can handle an 82 pound margarita in the sunshine.
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All in all, it was a great trip and I have made some friends for life out of pure luck. I can't wait to meet the other half of the group!

[Tweet "A blogger meet up and the benefits of travelling with bloggers"]

A couple things I learned on the trip, were the benefits of travelling with bloggers.

1- No guilt about randomly stopping the activity to get a good picture. They also understand completely the ability to simultaneously chat and tweet and post to Insta to keep up with social media and don't take offence.

2-Bloggers understand the art of the selfie and the importance of getting a good angle and good lighting. It was also awesome having so many other girls snap so many awesome pictures and then know how to share them so we had all the pictures. For the record, Sarah is the queen of the selfie taking.

3- Being that we have spent 2 years doing style challenges, we have come to learn each others' style quite well, so it was a blast shopping and telling each other what to try on.

There are moments when I wish that I hadn't met these ladies. I know that sounds harsh, but I mean that in a loving way. Because now that I know how much joy, love and inspiration they have brought to my life in just one weekend, it makes me sad to know that we can't be a part of each others' daily lives. They have impacted me in many ways already and I feel extremely blessed and humbled that they choose to call me friend.

Go check out the other ladies today and see what they have to say about (said in real Canadian) our first meetup:

[…] Shaunacey and Deena made me smile with their Canadianisms. I tried not to comment on their accent but we all laughed at Shaunacey’s “eh?s. I love how their inflections go up when the talk. They were both hilarious and you’d never know that they had just met that day. They seemed to be old pals from way back. Check out Shaunacey’s impression of the meet up here. And Deena’s here. […]

You are just the sweetest thing in the whole world. My life is better knowing each and every single one of you! And for the record, everyone in my life wants a piece of the ketchup chips that Mr. is guarding closely...lol!

Oh my gosh, what an awesome girl's trip!! I didn't realize you're part of a group of bloggers, checking out the link for your collective blog!!Also, aww, don't be sad that you've met such a wonderful group of women and made great friends. Be happy! Because it's great to have friends all over, and the friends who, when you meet up, it feels like you haven't skipped a moment apart!

I only follow a few of the ladies, but am going to check out the rest now, so thank you for introducind them to me! What an amazing opportunity you all had, and how blessed are you to have met some incredible new friends. It looks like the best girls trip!

I am so socially shy and awkward that I can't imagine how I would ever be able to meet up and yet I want to!!! Just scared. So I can appreciate that you were shaking as you and Shaunacey met. I would be a wreck. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your new IRL relationships with these gals who had been just virtual friends.

Love this. Looked like such a blast and this update was ALMOST as much fun as getting the scoop in person. My favourite is Sarah taking her selfie by the water. Emily wanted to know which Disney princess she is.

I am so impressed by how well you spent the time of your layover in Calgary! What a fun weekend it sounds like you all had. The Blended Blog is a wonderful thing for your readers - and it sounds like it has been invaluable for all of you!

What an incredible story. Honestly as I read it my heart was so full of happiness for you and your experience. I love how you compared it to a blind date, a REALLY long blind date, so it's awesome that it was a good one. I love all of your pictures but my favorite one is of everyone taking a selfie. Maybe you all need to plan a trip every couple of years and meet up.

[…] and well, the rest is history. In fact, it is still fresh in my brain history, as I had a chance to meet those ladies last weekend. Now I have a blog support group but also women in my niche that I can work with and learn […]